Too Hot to Walk Outside? Experts Recommend Giving Pool Walking a Try to Beat the Heat While Exercising

We never thought splashing around in the water could do much to shrink our waistline…until we started hearing from women who were using aquatic exercises to shed 20, 50, even 100 pounds — no swimming laps (or sweating buckets) required! Intrigued, we set out to discover what makes these workouts so effective — and to learn the moves that melt fat from the cooling comfort of the pool.

The benefits of water exercises and pool walking

“Water provides 12 to 15 times more resistance than air, so muscles must work harder to push through it,” says exercise scientist J.J. Mayo, Ph.D., a professor at Arkansas Tech University in Russellville. Research shows this helps you burn twice as many calories as you would on land. And unlike on land, where air acts as an oppositional force in just one direction, water creates resistance from multiple directions, creating a resistance training exercise experience. That means you’ll work several muscle groups at once to tone even faster.

Another plus: While water exercises blast fat incredibly effectively, they feel effortless. The natural buoyancy of water cushions the joints, reducing the impact of your body weight by up to 75 percent. This not only makes exercise feel easier, it also minimizes the risk of injury. Women’s Health expert, Jamé Heskett, M.D. , explains. “You can get to that high intensity and engage your muscles without taxing the joints or your balance system. “I recommend the pool all the time to my clients if they haven’t exercised in a while because it allows you to incorporate exercise but with a safety net of it being lower impact.”

And the benefits go beyond slimming. Studies show that the pressure of water on the skin has a massage effect that stimulates circulation and improves the flow of lymph. This flushes trapped toxins and fluids to visibly reduce puffiness and bloat instantly. Water’s cushioning effect also helps increase joint stability. In fact, Brazilian researchers found that microburst pool workouts helped postmenopausal women improve balance enough to slash the number of falls they experienced by 86 percent. “Plus, being in the water is a mental break. You don’t even feel like you’re working out sometimes,” cheers Morgan Root, 35, who lost 100 pounds in 17 months with help from pool microbursts. “It gave me my life back!”

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How water walking ends pain

Water workouts are ideal for arthritis sufferers and anyone carrying extra pounds. As Howard Chansky, M.D ., a professor and chair of the Department of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at the University of Washington, explains, “Being in water lets you exercise without putting the full force of gravity on your joints. On land, the force on your joints can be seven times your body weight. In the water, you reduce that force by hundreds of pounds.”

Indeed, in a study in the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine , 44 percent of osteoarthritis patients who did land-based exercise reported discomfort afterward, compared to only 11 percent of patients in the aquatic group.

This buoyancy cushions joints to make exercising feel effortless — even though you’re toning muscles more effectively than you would on land. “Water is more viscous than air — moving against that resistance makes muscles work harder,” says Dr. Chansky. Indeed, studies at Texas A&M University found that water walking builds 600 percent more lean muscle than strolling on solid ground. And Dr. Chansky adds, “Since you’re strengthening the muscles around the joints, you’ll also experience less joint pain overall.”

To get the benefits, Dr. Chansky suggests walking laps or marching in place in water that’s at least waist-deep for 15 to 20 minutes a day. Women with joint pain may want to consider a swim spa or hot tub since the warmth soothes joint inflammation to ease symptoms. But you can also get the perks of walking in a pool, lake or ocean. If you want to increase difficulty, ankle weights can be incorporated into your exercise routine to maximize burning calories.

Your walking plan at a glance

Pool walking couldn’t be easier. All you need is 10 minutes and access to a chest-deep body of water — be it in your backyard, the community pool or off the dock at the lake. To help you get started, Kathy Kaehler , who has trained Julia Roberts and Jennifer Aniston, devised a plan to maximize results.

2 min: Warm-up: In waist-deep water, march in place, pumping your arms.

20 sec: Alternating lunge jumps: In waist-deep water, start in a lunge with your right foot in front. Jump and switch legs, landing with your left foot in front. Continue alternating.

2 min: Gentle walk: Walk back and forth across the shallow end of the pool or lake.

20 sec: Poolside kicks: Lean back against the side of the pool or dock and grasp the edge of the pool. Extend your legs straight out in front of you and kick vigorously.

2 min: Gentle treading: In deep water, circle your arms and legs to keep your body afloat.

20 sec: Whirlpools: In waist-deep water, extend your arms and reach as far as you can to the left. Using your hands like paddles, sweep the water as far as you can to the right. Switch directions; continue alternating.

2 min: Cooldown: In waist-deep water, walk gently.

Repeat three to four times per week for best results.

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To make your workout even more powerful

When it comes to slimming exercise strategies, one approach has emerged as the clear winner in both effectiveness and efficiency: “microbursts” of intense activity followed by periods of rest. In a recent study at McMaster University in Canada, subjects who completed three 20-second microbursts of high-intensity exercise a few times per week lowered their blood-sugar levels by 53 percent, increased their cardiovascular fitness by 19 percent and boosted their muscles’ calorie-burning activity by 48 percent — improvements equal to or better than those seen in the group that exercised for 50 minutes straight. And other studies show microbursts can curb cravings, improve liver function and rev fat burn by 213 percent.

As powerful as microbursts can be for weight loss, though, many women struggle to get the perks. “Turning up the intensity of exercises like walking and biking puts you at a very high risk for injuring a joint, which can sideline you when you’re just starting to exercise,” explains Jamé Heskett, M.D. , author of The Well Path. And this risk is especially problematic for those of us born before 1977. “As we get older, the stability of our joints and our balance decline,” asserts Dr. Heskett. That leaves joints more vulnerable to stress injuries from the impact of hitting hard pavement. Add the energy-sapping effects of summer humidity to the equation and high-intensity bursts can take an even greater toll on the body.

Pool workouts also deliver greater toning perks. Since water provides 12 to 15 times more resistance than air, muscles have to work up to 800 percent harder to push through it — an effect that can double calorie burn. And unlike on land, where air provides resistance in just one direction, water creates it from multiple directions. “Normally, we tend to overexercise our strongest muscles, so the weaker ones get weaker,” says Dr. Heskett. “But in the pool, that doesn’t happen­ — you’re in a much more three-dimensional­ plane, so all your muscles are working, which will yield more all-around fat burning and toning.”

Unexpected perks of pool time

Spending time in the pool won’t just help you lose weight and ease pain, it also delivers a host of unexpected benefits

Better balance

Researchers reporting in the American Journal of Epidemiology tracked exercise habits and incidence of falls for 1,667 adults over four years, and found that those who swam were 33 percent less likely to fall; plus, swimmers outperformed bikers, golfers and ­runners on balance tests. The study authors say swimmers use their core muscles and must coordinate movement of their arms and legs to stay afloat — both of which increase balance control.

Boosted brainpower

Research from Australia found that people who lounged in warm water (86°F) that was up to their chest for 10 minutes had a 14 percent increase in blood flow to their cerebral arteries — an effect that’s been shown to rev the production of hormones related to cognition. Study author Howard Carter credits the increase to changes in blood pressure and carbon dioxide levels in the blood, both of which affect blood flow to the brain.

Brighter moods

In a study of 1,000 participants in the journal Health and Place , those who visited ‘blue spaces” — bodies of water including lakes, rivers, pools, oceans and even fountains — once a week were 70 percent more likely to report high well-being, a measure of good mood and physical health, than those who never visited blue spaces. Indeed, even just viewing bodies of water improved subjects’ outlooks. The study authors say that blue spaces help regulate mood, encourage gentle activity and restore depleted mental resources.

Water moves that ease pain

All you need is water and a pool noodle (available at dollar stores). Then, head into chest-deep water and get ready to feel pain-free! For those concerned about grip or the roughness of a pool, consider water shoes.

Noodle leg press

This press strengthens the thigh muscles to relieve pressure on the knees.

To do: Hold the ends of a pool noodle, bend it to form a U shape and push it under the water. Step on the middle of the noodle, release the ends and press it down to the floor, straightening your leg. Bend your knee to let the noodle rise up and grab the ends. Return to the starting position and do 15 reps on each leg.

Noodle kicks

Maintaining balance calls on the core muscles and encourages good posture to balance weight on the joints.

To do: Hold the noodle in front of you with your arms extended a few inches below the surface of the water. Kick one leg straight up to tap the noodle with the top of your foot. Do 15 reps on each leg.

Noodle step-over

Hopping strengthens the muscles around the knee to eliminate pain.

To do: Hold the ends of a pool noodle, bend it to form a U shape and push it under the water. Step over the noodle with one leg then the other, then step back over to return to start. Do 15 reps. For an advanced version, jump over the noodle with your legs together.

Pool walking success story: Meredith Volpe, 48

Every joint in Meredith Volpe’s body burned with the pain of rheumatoid arthritis. But she couldn’t get relief. “Over the years, I’d visited countless doctors. They all said the same thing: Lose weight and you’ll feel better. But how? Exercise was torture. Life was busy, so I had to work through the pain. I was on my feet a lot as a salesperson for a hot-tub showroom, which made my joints ache even more. But despite being surrounded by hot tubs, I wasn’t one to enjoy soothing soaks myself. To be honest, the idea of wearing a bathing suit at my size was painful. Still, when we started selling special tubs called ‘swim spas’ that were meant for exercise, I was curious. So when a company offered to let me test out a unit at home, I decided to give it a try in the privacy of my backyard

“The first day, I stood in the corner of the swim spa, twisting my waist in the water while chatting with my son. The next morning my stomach felt strange. I wondered if I had food poisoning. My son laughed and said, ‘Mom, of course it’s sore, you worked your core for an hour yesterday.’ I was amazed. Never in a million years did it dawn on me that I was exercising!

“Each day, I got into the tub and lifted my legs against the water shooting from the jets or walked against the bubbling current. I also stretched and did yoga moves in the water. I wasn’t a flexible person, but in the spa, I could do anything. My arthritis pain lessened within that first week, and before long, I could even jog in the water without discomfort.

“In the first month, I dropped a pants size. I was shedding inches in the water faster than I ever had with conventional exercise — and with a fraction of the effort. As the weight melted away, my joints felt better and better.

“I fell in love with aquatic fitness and upgraded from my swim spa to an Endless Pools Fitness System, which has a hydraulic underwater treadmill and attachments, like oars for rowing. Having the ability to move so completely was absolutely worth the price. And knowing that I’m adding years to my life so I can spend more quality time with my family is priceless!

“Water exercise has been the best and easiest thing I’ve ever done for my body. I dropped 112 pounds — that’s seven pants sizes! And my arthritis eased by 95 percent. I was able to get off my Rx medicine with my doctor’s approval, and I don’t even have to see my rheumatologist anymore! It’s amazing how far I’ve come!”

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This content is not a substitute for professional medical advice or diagnosis. Always consult your physician before pursuing any treatment plan.